Mayor Emanuel announces “agreement in principle” to end CSO strike

Fri Apr 26, 2019 at 5:29 pm

By Lawrence A. Johnson

UPDATED.

After daylong negotiations at his City Hall office Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced an “agreement in principle” had been reached late Friday to end the seven-week strike by musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The one-paragraph statement was light on specifics, stating only that “an agreement in principle” had been reached “to bring the music back to Symphony Center.”

“The symphony is an integral part of Chicago’s rich cultural fabric, but its economic impact extends beyond the musicians and management to the stagehands, ushers, restaurant servers and hotel workers whose livelihoods depend on a thriving symphony,” read the mayor’s statement. “I am pleased to announce that, after convening both parties at City Hall for a successful negotiating session, the management and the musicians have reached an agreement in principle to bring the music back to Symphony Center.”

A CSOA management spokeswoman confirmed that, while there were still details to be ironed out, a tentative agreement has been reached to end the strike.

The CSO musicians union initially said Friday evening that the musicians would vote to ratify the agreement at 10 a.m. Saturday. An official union statement released later was more cautious, saying only that musicians will meet Saturday morning “to consider details of a potential agreement that would allow the finest orchestra in the country to get back to work.”

If agreed to, that would mean CSO concerts could start up again beginning with next week’s program to be led by music director Riccardo Muti.

The negotiating sessions, brokered by Mayor Emanuel, began at 8:30 Friday morning and are continuing into the evening.